This is my second pair of Westone in-ear monitors/headphones the first being the UM2. I loved my UM2's and only purchased theW3 because my UM2's were lost during a vacation.

The W3 is everything I loved about the UM2 with an added dimension to the low end of the frequency. I am very happy with the sound which I would refer to as being neutral forward as these are tuned for recorded music as opposed to live music. Getting a proper seal is the key to great sound. I find the triple flange tips to be the best for me and are quite comfortable one inserted properly.

I would definitely recommend the Westone W3 and am looking forward to auditioning the W40.

These are interesting, on one hand the bass is really boosted, it's boosted too much and seems uncontrolled. However, the treble is really detailed and sounds really audiophile-like. Kind of a weird earbud, and not worth the price IMO. I liked the cable and it was comfortable to wear though.

I've been listening to music with W4R's for a long while now. I thought I'd give the W3's a try once the W30's were announced and W3 pricing dropped. Both the W3 and W30 have the same sound signature.

At first I didn't like the W3's -- right out of the box they sounded way too bassy -- and just over all congested compared with my nice W4R's. I put the W3's away for a week or so - and then I thought I'd just connect them to an iPod and let them play for a day or so. What a difference that made.

Now, I've been listening with my W3's about half the time - and the W4R's the other. I think if I were to sum up the differences between the two:

W3 - very musical - like adding a nice smooth equalizer to the bass end - and the high end. The voices / mids are really well defined. Listening to the W3 reminds me of listening to vinyl on my nice Phase Linear amp / equalizer -- slightly colored sound - but in a nice, refreshing way.

The W4R is more clinical - a touch more spacious -- less bassy - and have a little more extension on the high end.

The Westone 3's provide an amazing amount of clarity, with great separation between instruments thanks to the 3 drivers. One thing I would like to lay down right off the bat is the fact that these headphones have A LOT of bass. Before purchasing, I was looking for reviews mentioning bass response, I had a high end pair of Shure's IEM's and was disappointed by their bass response. Some people didn't favor the bass with the 3's, I figured that meant it wasn't very accurate, which I was a little concerned about. I bit the bullet and purchased, mainly because most reviews mentioned they would be great with electronic music. Honestly after having them for a few months now I will admit I find the amount of bass the 3's produce to be a little over-powering. As in I seem to get fatigued easily after a couple of hours. I am someone who seriously enjoys bass, I am a car audio installer I work with sub woofers every day, but the 3's provided just a little too much boom for my taste. With EQ adjustments I have found the perfect sound for them, but I still find with some songs that while the music is still extremely clear I feel like the low end is drowning out some of the higher frequencies.
Comfort - These things are amazing. They are extremely light weight despite their size, and the ear tips (over ten included) are extremely comfortable! With memory tips, silcon tips, and multi flange. It might take a few tries to get your perfect fit, but once you do, they are the most comfortable things around.
Sound - Heavy on the bass, but amazingly well rounded. Classic rock, metal, electronic, it all sounds great on these. With the exception of the heavy bass, sometimes drowning out the highs (not clipping mind you).
Durability - I've only had them a few months, but so far I have had zero issues with them. I noticed if laid flat for a while the twisted cord seems to come a little loose, but its not glued wiring so its kind of expected. Nothing on the 3's feel overly cheap to me, my only concern of durability in the 3s would have to be the earpiece connectors. They just seem really thin and look to have the potential to fail given the right amount of force/time.
Cable - The cable is strait twisted, high quality, very very light. To the average eye they may look cheap, but they are tough, and I have found they are somewhat difficult to tangle.